


Everything Changes

by panffin



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Gen, Lectures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:52:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panffin/pseuds/panffin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erin has a lecture to make. Her new friends invited themselves along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything Changes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for a prompt on the kink meme: http://ghostbusterskink.dreamwidth.org/318.html?thread=9790
> 
> First time writing anything in ages, so I really hope this came out okay!

_Breathe in, breathe out._

"Big hall. Big day."

Everything seemed all too familiar. Erin looked out to the large hall of empty chairs in front of her. This hall was even larger than the one that she was given ages ago - back before the whole ghostbusting business. She took another deep breath and looked at her watch, and then at the huge clock hanging above her podium.

"Big hall. Big day. Big hall. Big day."

It was all so surreal. This was not where she had expected her life to lead to.

Just as she straightened her vest for the tenth time, the doors opened and groups of students started piling in. She looked at the stream filling up the seats and doesn't miss a group of very familiar faces that take up four seats in the furthest behind row. Erin felt her world stop and she can do nothing but stare in horror as her friends made themselves comfortable.

_Breathe in, breathe out._ She repeated the mantra slowly and took a deep breath. They're her friends. They save lives together. Or help capture public disturbances, at the very least. They won't be here to mock her. And she thought back to the disaster that was her very first lecture just a handful of years ago, and was determined that today would not be the same. She wouldn't fumble her words or mispronounce anything. She couldn't afford to. Not when her friends were there.

She glanced around the hall and saw that it was almost full. She took another look at the back row. Abby was giddy with excitement, waving their second book in the air and mouthing things Erin couldn't quite make out. Patty was seating with her back straight, pen in ear and she smiled radiantly at Erin. Kevin looked very lost, but he waved very enthusiastically at her (and that made up for the fact he probably decided to come along without really knowing what he was getting into). Holtz had some sort of contraption on the desk in front of her. From the distance, it looked like a video recorder, but with magnifying lenses. Erin was horrified for a moment, but then Holtz dramatically winked at her and gave her two thumbs up and Erin felt more secure. She had to try to be less self-conscious. She could do this.

And she does it.

She greets the students and introduces the lecture: Spectral Coincidences and Manners of Pursuing Entities. She knew this inside and out. She had stayed up countless nights discussing it with Abby, which progressed to dozens hypotheses and then experiments for days without end. They couldn't produce much evidence back then, but their theories had managed to survive much scrutiny.

Erin explains the possible varieties of ectoplasm. Then she brings up her experience with the ghostbusters and the whole hall is a lot more attentive than ever. Erin took a wary glance at the top row, and her friends have been paying very close attention. They all gave her thumbs up signs, and Holtz did some weird action of clapping her hands in front of her face. She whispered something to Kevin who sat next to her, and he started doing the same thing. Erin pursed her lips to stop a wide grin because she didn't know exactly what they were doing, but they looked adorable.

She explains with new found ease her work with the ghostbusters, giving examples of ghosts that they've captured and the various devices that were built solely for that purpose. She recounts the tale of their first ever ghost. She smiles at the fond memories.

After all that, she took a look at her watch. Almost two hours had passed. That was possibly the fastest lecture she had ever experienced giving. She announced a five minute break as she opened the floor to questions. Nobody gets up to leave. And slowly, hands started being raised.

Erin was genuinely surprised. She had never had to entertain so many questions. The most she's ever had in one go was... two. Murmurs start filling the room, which had been almost pin-drop silence prior (other than the scratching sound of pen on paper). Students started discussing among themselves and even more hands were raised. Even at the back row, where her friends sat. They were more wild, especially Holtz who was swinging her arms in the air.

This was going to be a very long Q&A session. This was more than she had ever expected. She looked back to her friends at the back row, easily chattering away to each other while their hands were still raised. She made eye-contact with all of them and couldn't help smiling. After all this, she would need to find a way to thank all of them for coming. She may not have expected them, but their mere presence had helped calm her down so much. Erin may or may not have gotten a little teary eyed. Without wasting anymore time, she got to answering the questions.

 

* * *

 

"So what's with that weird... Thing. The -" She stops to imitate the weird hand clapping motion in front of her face, "- thing that you and Kevin were doing."

"Oh, that? It's the Seal of Approval, of course."

Everyone at the table bursted out laughing. The pizza boxes were left on the table in front of them as continued chatting well after their meal. Erin's mind backtracked for a moment, thinking over what Holtz had just said. And then she realized.

"Seal. Of Approval... Of course it was."

The three girls in front of her did it then, while making what Erin assumed were their best attempts at seal noises, before bursting into laughter again. And okay, it was really stupid. And funny. And it meant that they approved of her. Sure, they celebrated the lecture well done, but this still meant something to her.

She felt the tears coming in. Without realizing, Erin had stumbled into her own little family and they were everything she had ever wanted.


End file.
